‘Vikings’ season 4, episode 18 delivers best ratings since premiere

For those of you who were concerned at all about a potential decline in “Vikings” ratings following the departure of star Travis Fimmel, we come bearing a rather simple message: You’ve got absolutely nothing to worry about.

We’ve just had a chance to take a closer look at some of the ratings from this past Wednesday’s episode of the History drama, and the big takeaway was that people are as excited as ever to continue to dive into this show! The 0.7 rating that the show received in the 18-49 demographic tied for the best number we’ve seen since the season 4 premiere, and was the best overall performance in this second half of the season. Meanwhile, the 2.47 million viewers who watched this episode is a new season high, eclipsing the numbers for the premiere and other episodes in both parts of the season. Overall, season 4 is on average still down versus season 3, but you cannot attribute any decline to Ragnar’s departure in the slightest.

So why would the ratings go up now, at a time when there is so much competition both in terms of other shows and also current events? The simplest answer to that is that people love epic battle sequences, and we’re gearing up for a heck of a fantastic finish this season. This is also something that has been building now for a rather long time, and it’s hard to imagine anyone not having at least some degree of curiosity about what is going to be coming up at the end of it.

Or, maybe everyone’s watching out of fear of ticking off Ivar — you don’t really want to make that guy mad, right?

Obviously, “Vikings” has already been renewed for a fifth season, but there is no immediate danger facing the show at all. Yet, at the same time isn’t it nice to know that there is still a reasonably good shot at a sixth season? If the show creators want that, maybe the level of consistency here is something that will make the folks at the network all the more inclined.

For more news when it comes to “Vikings,” head over here to see a preview for the next new episode of the show! (Photo: History.)